Friday 26 December 2008

Background

The 26th of December is celebrated in many Christian traditionsas the feast of Saint Stephen - the first Christian martyr. As thistext from the Acts of the Apostles narrates, Saint Stephen was oneof the first deacons of the Church. It was his task to organise aidfor the poor of the Christian community.

It was once the custom, in honour of Stephen's memory, for peoplein Britain and elsewhere to collect money in small clay boxes onChristmas day or throughout the year, in thanksgiving for all thatthey had received from God. On the day after Christmas, on thefeast of Saint Stephen or 'Boxing Day', these boxes would then bebroken open and the contents distributed amongst the poor.

Today's passage is as much of a challenge today as it was in thetime of the Apostles. It is concerned with equality before God andour gracious generosity to one another. The 'Hellenists' who arementioned in the text were people of Jewish descent who had,however, grown up outside of Israel. The Hebrews on the other handwere Palestinian Jews. It seems likely from the Bible and othertexts that there was some animosity between the two groups - therewas certainly a lack of trust.

The question of adequate care for widows was important, as underJewish law, a widow inherited nothing on the death of her husbandbut remained dependant on the generosity of his family. If thewidow had no family then her community were expected to provide forher.

All the names of the new deacons are Greek. They were all chosen asmen full of the Holy Spirit, but perhaps they were also chosenbecause they were the ones most familiar to the Hellenists and somost likely to be trusted by those who raised the initialcomplaint. Their authority and the blessing of the community wereconferred on them through the laying on of hands, a tradition whichpre-dated the time of Moses.

To Ponder

In your opinion, what criteria should the Churchuse for electing ministers and Church officers?

How generous are you in the care of widows andwidowers in your congregations?

How partisan are you in your charitable giving -and why?